Part 8

Early the next morning, Percy was already awake and dressed before the alarm clock went off. He looked to Annabeth who was still sound asleep and looked gorgeous as always. He smiled and turned off the alarm so it wouldn’t startle her. He walked up to her and kissed her forehead. “Hey,” he whispered. “we’re almost there.”

“Hm…?” she murmured.

“We’ll be there in about fifteen minutes. It’s time to get up.”

“Mmh…” she mumbled as her eyes fluttered open.

“Come on.” he said shaking her arm lightly.

She blinked twice and pushed herself up on her elbows.

Percy handed her a fresh change of clothes. ‘I’ll be in the bathroom. Let me know when you’re done.”

She nodded and got up slowly, pulling on her clothes. She yawned. “Okay, come on out.”

He came out of the bathroom.

“So, we’re almost there?”

He checked the controls. “Yeah. Be there in about ten minutes now.”

“Oh… okay.”

“There something wrong?”

Annabeth sat down on the bed. “This isn’t a good idea.” she said with a frown.

Percy sat next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be fine.” he said with a small smile.

“Something’s gonna go wrong.”

He shrugged. “If it does, we’ve got Jason, Leo, and Frank to help.” He looked at the controls again. “Five minutes.”

“Gods save me…”

“It’ll be okay. I promise.”

Annabeth sighed.

_

In Nico’s room, they were both fast asleep. Nico, with his blanket covering all, but one arm and one leg and Asa, kitty cornered with the wall and his cloak wrapped around him. A large cloud of dust-like particles had formed above Asa’s head as he slept and his dreams played out on it like a TV. The images were violent and dark pictures of various things such as Kyle, his father, fire, Nico, and death.

Nico rolled over in his sleep and fell to the floor with a thud. He groaned and rolled onto his back, propping himself up on his hands. “How did I get on the floor…?” he mumbled. He looked up at Asa, finally noticing his dream cloud and his eyes widened. “Woah…”

As Nico watched Asa’s dream, the images slowly got more and more violent, but the boy seemed completely calm. He sighed happily and shifted a bit in his sleep.

Nico gulped. “Well, that can’t be good…” he murmured.

Suddenly, the dust cloud fell and disappeared as Asa’s eyes fluttered open. “Hm…?” he mumbled sleepily. He looked down at Nico. “…Why are you on the floor?” he asked rubbing his eyes and pulling down his hood.

Nico shrugged. “I think I fell out of bed.” he said getting up slowly. “Have any good dreams?”

Asa nodded crawling out of bed. “They were all good. It’s been a while since I had a bad one.” he said cheerily. “Why do you ask?”

Nico rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, um… I think your dreams appear above your head while you’re sleeping… I could see what you were dreaming about.”

Asa gulped and his skin paled as he started to shake.

“You’re not in trouble Asa! There’s nothing wrong with it! It’s just… not quite something I’d expect someone to consider a good dream.”

“Why?” Asa asked. “Yours aren’t like that?”

“Well, usually a good dream would be something like… my sister still being alive or… winning the lottery. Not fire and death…”

Asa shrugged. “It’s a stress reliever.”

“What are you stressed about?”

“Nothing.” he hissed.

“Asa, I’m not trying to be a pest. I just wanna know if there’s something bothering you that I can help with… If you don’t want to talk about it, just say so.”

“I. Don’t. Want. To. Talk. About. It.” he said in almost a growl.

Nico put his hands up defensively. “Okay. We won’t talk about it then.”

Asa flicked his hand and his bed made itself.

Nico nodded. “Cool…”

“Shut up.” he said pulling his hood up and marching out the door, his cloak swooshing behind him.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed…” Nico muttered. He followed Asa as he made his way to the top deck. “Where are you going?”

“Somewhere.”

“I think I’ll join you.”

“I’ll throw you off the side of the ship if you do.”

“Yeah. Go right ahead…”

“Don’t make me.”

Nico rolled his eyes and kept following Asa.

_

Percy pressed a button on the control panel. “We’re gonna dock here.”

“This is such a bad idea…” Annabeth mumbled.

“Will you relax already? Freaking out about it isn’t gonna help.” he said walking out to the deck.

Annabeth followed him as the ship landed in the water beside the dock.

Percy looked out at the town and the crowd of people who had gathered around the dock. He took a deep breath. “Ready?”

Annabeth gave him a small nod. “As I’ll ever be…”

Percy nodded and climbed down to the dock looking out at the crowd of people glaring at him.

One man ran out from the crowd and tackled him. He started punching him in the face. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY DAUGHTER?!” he screamed.

Annabeth ran down to the dock. “DAD!” she shouted. She ran to him and tackled him in a hug.

He hugged her back. “Annabeth! My baby girl… I thought you were gone forever…”

“Ow…” Percy groaned.

“No. Never forever Dad… and he’s not that bad, I swear. He’s confused and needs help, yes…. but… please don’t punch him.” she said.

“I second that…” Percy mumbled.

Her father gave her a confused look.

“He took care of us!”

“Took care of you? He kidnapped you!”

“Just leave them alone. I’ll explain.”

Her father grumbled and got off of Percy. “I’ll listen, but you have to tell them that.” he said pointing to the townspeople.

Percy got up and rubbed his head only to be tackled by another man. “REALLY? AGAIN?”

“WHERE’S PIPER?” he shouted.

Percy shoved him off and ducked under a punch. “Could someone help me?!”

The man grabbed his shoulders and drove his knee in between Percy’s legs.

A tear fell from Percy’s eye as he uttered a high-pitched screech and fell to the ground.

“WHERE. IS. PIPER?” he screamed again.

Piper ran down to the dock. “DAD!”

Her father hugged her tight.

Jason followed her close behind. “What ha-” He looked down at Percy. “Why is Percy on the ground?”

Percy pointed to Piper’s dad. “Ask him.”

Annabeth helped Percy to his feet and looked out at the crowd who was slowly inching forward, weapons drawn. “Stop!” she shouted. “Just… Don’t touch him!”

“Why shouldn’t we?!” shouted a person in the crowd. “They stole from us, kidnapped you, and he flooded the town!”

Percy took a step forward. “I came here to set things right! I know what I did was wrong and I know I’ve hurt people… but I’ve realized that now and I want to change it. I’m willing to repair any damages I have done to this place and return all the money I stole…”

“LIAR!” shouted a different person.

“I’m not lying, I swear!” Percy shouted putting his hands up defensively. “Leo, get the sack of money from my closet!” he ordered.

“WHY?” Leo shouted back.

“Because it’s not ours! Just do it!”

Leo ran to Percy’s room, grabbed the bag, and ran back tossing it down to the dock.

Percy picked up the bag and set it down backing away from it. “This isn’t all of it, but the rest is below deck… I’m going to return all of it and fix any damage I’ve caused either by our raid or the flood.”

The crowd stared at him blankly.

“The truth is, I’ve been very confused for most of my life. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I didn’t know how else to act. I’m trying to make amends now…” he said hanging his head slightly.

Annabeth stood next to him. “He’s telling the truth.”

Percy nodded. “I am… All I want now is to be forgiven for the horrible things that I’ve done.”

Annabeth and Piper’s dads looked to each other then back at Percy. “Prove it.” they both said at once.

Percy nodded and turned to Leo. “Go get Frank. We’ve got some repairs to do.”

_

As the ship docked, Asa got off and walked toward the woods. “Please don’t follow me.”

Nico kept following him. “Why not?”

Asa walked a little faster into the woods. “I said stop following me!”

“And I asked you, why not?”

“STOP FOLLOWING ME!” Asa screamed throwing his arm out.

Nico flew back and hit a tree hard as Asa ran deeper into the forest. He rubbed his head and got up, shadow travelling a few feet in front of Asa. “Where are you going?!”

“STOP!” he screamed running in a different direction. “Leave me alone, Nico! It’s none of your business!”

Nico shadow travelled again and grabbed Asa’s shoulder. “I want to know where you’re going and why!”

“NO!” Asa fumed as some tears began to pool in his eyes. “Just let me go!”

“Asa… I just want you to tell me what’s wrong. I don’t want you running off on your own.”

“Leave me alone, Nico…” he muttered pulling away from him.

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong. I can tell there’s something bugging you.”

“Leave me alone!” he screamed as he ran away again.

“Asa!” Nico called running after him.

Asa threw his hand behind him creating obstacles in Nico’s path.

Nico smacked into a tree as it appeared in front of him and rubbed his head. He shadow travelled after Asa again, but this time stayed in the shadows to avoid being seen.

Eventually, Asa stopped and fell to his knees in a small clearing.

Nico landed in the thick branches of a nearby tree and watched him silently.

A few tears trickled down Asa’s cheeks as he looked up to the sky. “Mom… I need you… Please come. I know you’re really busy, but… I need your help.” Nothing happened and he looked around. “MOM I KNOW YOU’RE LISTENING! STOP IGNORING ME!” he sobbed.

Nico frowned down at him and shook his head.

Asa balled his fists as tears flowed from his eyes. For the first time, he seemed completely broken.

Suddenly, the wind started to swirl in a circle around Asa.

He looked up as his hood blew off. “M-Mom…?”

A beautiful woman shimmered into view in front of him. “Hello, my son.”

Asa quickly got to his feet and threw his arms around her sobbing into her dress.

She rubbed his head hugging him back. “I’ve been watching over you Asa. I know you haven’t had it easy lately…”

“Why haven’t you been coming to see me?” he whispered.

“Because you’ve been relying on me too much. You come to me for all of your troubles and don’t try to figure it out for yourself. You need to be more independent and figure things out on your own or with the help of your friends.”

“…I’m not relying on you for my powers… anything.” he hissed. “I’m relying on you like a kid relies on his mom because last time I checked, THAT’S WHAT YOU ARE! I tried to have friends! Look where that got me!” he snapped.

“I know that Asa, but I’m a goddess. I’m not supposed to be like a normal mother. Gods and goddesses usually try to remain as distant as they can. I’ve only stuck around this long because you are very special, my son.”

“I’m your only son. You told me you didn’t have any other kids. I’m like, two percent away from being immortal. You should be able to spent time with me!”

“I told you I didn’t have any other children with other demigods. I have many children, but you’re my only son whose father was a demigod. You come from a very powerful line of gods and demigods, but just like normal children, you can’t rely on me forever.”

“I’m not saying that I want to! I just want you to be my mom…”

She kissed his forehead. “I will always be your mother. And when you really need me I’ll be there for you, but I just can’t hang out. I can visit you once in a while, but I can’t do it all the time anymore. Do you understand?”

Asa balled his fists. “Most kids have a mom for eighteen years. I’m ten and you’re telling me you can’t do that? That I’m asking too much? I had you on and off for six years then not at all for the other four!”

“Asa, you are my favorite son and I love you. I wish I could spend more time with you, but I just… can’t. That’s not how it works for children of the gods. Most demigods don’t ever get to see their parents. You should be grateful for the time we had.”

“I can’t do it. I just want someone… And my friends will never be my parents. It’s different. It’s a different kind of relationship all together.”

“I know it’s not easy, but if you build strong relationships with your friends it will be much easier, I promise you.”

“Don’t I have an aunt or something? Anyone…?” he asked frowning up at her.

She shook her head. “Sadly, no. Your father was an only child and his mother died a long time ago.”

Asa sank back to his knees. “Take me with you…”

The goddess sighed and frowned. “You know I can’t do that Asa…”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not an Olympian goddess and I travel a lot. Your powers aren’t strong enough yet to keep up with me. Plus, you’re still mortal. Mortals cannot accompany gods under any circumstances.”

Asa sighed. “I don’t want to stay here…”

“I cannot help you with that. Just try to do as I said and stay with your friends.” she said bending down to rub his cheek with a smile. “I have to go now.”

He looked up at her with a frown. “Please… come and visit me. One day? Just one day where we do something and just spend time together…?” he pleaded.

She sighed. “I will visit you, but it won’t be very soon.”

“As long as you promise.”

“I promise on the River Styx I will visit you.”

He got up and hugged her tight. “I love you, Mom.”

She hugged him back. “I love you too.” she said before shimmering back into the wind.

Nico quietly climbed down from his tree. “… You okay?”

Asa jumped and turned back toward him. “Were you there for all that?!” he shouted balling his fists on the verge of another dangerous fury.

Nico backed up putting his hands up defensively. “Woah! Calm down!”

“You were spying on me, weren’t you?!”

“Asa, I wasn’t spying! I just wanted to make sure you were alright!”

Asa backed up. “Just leave me alone…”

“Asa, I just want to help you-”

“Well some job you’re doing!” He turned around. “I don’t want to see you anymore.” he said walking in the other direction.

He stopped when a green bolt of lightning shot in front of him leaving a message in the ground which said: ‘What did I just say?!’

Asa jumped back and looked to the sky. “But Moooom! He’s being rude!”

Another bolt struck. ‘Just because I’m a goddess doesn’t mean I can’t ground you.’

“Mom!” he whined.

A third bolt. ‘I will not hesitate to ground you from magic young man!’

“Well, what am I supposed to do?!”

No more bolts shot from the sky, but the message was clear. Figure it out for yourself.

Asa grumbled.

“So…” Nico said. “You gonna be alright?”

“I’ll be fine.” he said bitterly.

“…I feel bad about watching that. I honestly wasn’t trying to intrude. I’m just worried about you.”

He sighed.

“…Well, she said she’ll visit again so… that’s good, right?”

He sighed again.

“Come on, Asa… I’m really sorry for spying. I was worried about you. Is there any way you can forgive me?”

“Just don’t do it again…”

Nico nodded. “I won’t. I promise.” He looked to the sky. “The sun is setting. We should get back to the ship before they leave without us.”

Asa sighed quietly. “Okay…” he said walking back in the direction they had come.

_

After repairing the damages to the town and returning all of the money, Percy stood in front of the crowd again. “I uh… I hope you all can forgive me for what I’ve done… I promise I will never do something like that again…” He turned to Annabeth and Piper’s dads. “Um… I have to go now… It’s… It’s up to you whether you want them to stay or not…”

Piper turned to her dad. “Dad, can I stay with Jason? Please…?”

He thought for a moment then sighed. “I guess so…”

She hugged him. “I love you.”

“I love you too Pipes.”

She smiled at him then ran back to the ship happily with Jason.

Annabeth turned to her dad. “Daddy…”

He paused a moment then sighed. “… Okay…”

Annabeth hugged him.

He hugged her back tightly. “I’m going to miss you…” He pulled away to look at her. “You’ll visit sometimes, right?”

Annabeth nodded. “As often as I can, I promise.”

He kissed her forehead then looked to Percy. “If anything happens to her-”

Percy cut him off. “I’ll keep her safe, I promise.”

Annabeth smiled. “If not, I’ll smack him.”

Percy chuckled. “Oh, like you haven’t done that already.”

Annabeth chuckled as well.

Her father smiled. “Stay out of trouble, alright?”

“Okay Dad.”

He kissed her again and hugged her. “I love you, sweetie…”

“Love you too Dad.” she said climbing back onto the ship with Percy.

Asa and Nico ran out of the woods and climbed aboard as well.

As the ship lifted into the air, Annabeth waved to her dad until the town was out of sight.